we've got to address the cliff. we've got to raise the debt ceiling. and most importantly, we need long-term deficit reduction to get the fiscal sustainability. so, they've got a lot more to do than simply working on the -- >> i agree with that. in fact, the way i put it which is what i meant which is the resolution of the cliff. but i don't think the cliff gets resolved until we resolve the tax rate issue and then the other parts can follow. >> that makes sense. >> there's an editorial, op-ed in "the times" today that says do you know what, it's an aging society. that aging society means higher payments out to the wealthy -- to the elderly from the government. higher medicare spending, higher retirement spending, and especially something we have to get used to and we're going to have to bump up the share of the economy, that is, from the government because that's the way we're going to have to live if we want to take care of the elderly. mark, is that a reality? does that mean higher -- i'm sorry, lower long-term growth rates for the economy? >> well,